The Dream
A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2K12 Fanfiction
By Marcipie (previously The Sole Survivor)

Hey guys! This is my first TMNT fanfiction and I am kinda nervous posting this, but I hope I did all of them justice! I must've read this thing over a thousand times, changing things and adding sentences here and there. I love the new show so, so much and this story has been in my head for the longest time. And I just love the idea of Raph and April together, they're so precious.

Plus, I'm totally crushing on Raphael so this was a treat to write. Anyhow! Let me know if you like it, hate it, or whatever. I ENJOY FEEDBACK. REALLY. I DO.

xx

"Hey, you guys, I gotta tell you something!" April O'Neil chimed as she ran inside the turtles' home.

Four pairs of eyes immediately turned in her direction, curious and bright behind different colored masks. Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo leaped from their scattered positions across the lair to join her near the turnstiles, but Raphael remained seated in the pit with a magazine covering his face, though he did peer curiously at her over the top of the pages.

"What's up, April?" Leo asked.

"I had a dream last night!" April said. Mikey hopped up and down with a wide smile as he leaned toward her with excited eyes.

"Did you dream about pizza?" He exclaimed. He held his hands together with a dreamy sigh. "I dreamed about pizza once." They stared at him with furrowed brows. Even Raph had lowered the magazine to stare at his brother with a raised eyebrow. He rolled his eyes and raised the book until only the top of his head was showing.

April quickly gathered their attention again. "No, no, you guys, I had a... Um..." She paused. Should she really tell them about this? She debated lying, but they were ninjas. They'd probably sense she wasn't telling the truth. "I had a dream about one of you, actually." Her face flushed when she saw their stunned expressions. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey all shared confused glances.

"What... What kind of dream?" Leo asked curiously, a bit concerned with how red her face had become. Donnie leaned toward her in anticipation, his expression hopeful. April glanced from each of them before leaning around Mikey to look at Raphael. He saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and he shifted his gaze to her, raising an eyebrow. She quickly ducked behind Mikey and tried to stop the grin from appearing on her face.

"Oooh~" The orange-masked turtle cooed, breaking her concentration. Mikey's grin couldn't possibly get any wider. "Was one of us your boyfriend?" April glanced at him and tried to keep her breathing under control. Leo paled slightly and glanced at his tallest brother. A bright blush broke out across Donnie's cheeks.

"Um... Not exactly." April uttered. Donnie suddenly felt it hard to swallow. "But, it was actually a very good dream." She murmured. "I didn't want to wake up from it." She admitted quietly.

"Oh, yeah?" Leo asked, his voice an odd mix of confusion and hesitation. "What was it about?" He ventured slowly.

"Well..." She licked her lips. "There was... A large amount of kissing." As soon as she'd spoken, she noticed they had stiffened considerably, their eyes wide. Donnie appeared to be having trouble breathing.

Mikey was the first to recover. He grinned and nudged April teasingly with a cheeky grin, a small blush to his face. "So, are you crushing on one of us? Were we all in it? Was it Donnie? I bet it was Donnie." The orange-masked turtle rambled and practically beamed in her face, ignoring Donnie's embarrassed outburst of, "MIKEY!" The redhead shook her head.

"No, it wasn't Donnie." The purple-masked turtle's face fell.

"Um... Then who was it?" Donnie finally managed to ask with a strained voice, not sure if he was willing to know the answer anymore. April clasped her hands behind her back and dug her shoe into the floor before she spoke again.

"Okay, you guys have to promise you won't think of me any differently after I tell you." She pleaded with big eyes. Donnie immediately grew concerned and he nodded in agreement. Leo raised his eyebrows and cautiously nodded his head, his expression as neutral as he could make it. Mikey followed his brothers' lead and agreed, his bright face far too innocent for her liking. She thinned her eyes at him and he merely grinned, bouncing on the soles of his feet. Raphael didn't respond, tactfully ignoring them as he continued to flip the pages of his magazine.

"Of course, April, now can you tell us who it was?" Donnie murmured. April sucked in a breath.

"I... I don't know how to say it." She said. They all shared a glance. Mikey grew thoughtful and leaned close to her.

"...It wasn't Master Splinter, was it?"

April's eyes widened and she drew back from him, looking horrified. "NO! Mikey, no."

There was an abrupt cackling laugh from the pit and they all turned to look at Raphael. When he noticed his brothers and April were staring at him, unamused, he coughed and raised the book over his face again, muttering, "Just me, then."

When April looked back at Mikey, he shrugged and grinned. "Just checking."

"Can you just tell us who it was, April?" Leo asked. She sighed and nodded. She clenched her eyes shut, unable to look them in the eye.

"Okay, alright. It was, uh, it was Raph." She murmured hesitantly, her voice trailing into a whisper on his name. April licked her dry, chapped lips and summoned the courage to look at them. Leo and Mikey stared at her with equally surprised expressions. Donnie's was more of a mix of horror and disappointment. She turned to look at the red-masked turtle sitting not to far away and the others followed her lead. Raphael scanned the pages of his articles idly. He hadn't been paying much attention but when they'd stopped talking and the silence lasted far longer than he anticipated, he lowered his reading material to find his brothers staring at him with wide eyes and open mouths.

He blinked and frowned. "...What?" He began to grow uncomfortable and irritation spiked within him. He tossed his magazine off to the side and hauled himself to his feet, his eyes narrowed. "Alright, why is everyone looking at me like that?" He demanded and crossed his arms. Leo stared at him for a few more moments before he glanced back at April with an expression that practically questioned her sanity and she shrugged sheepishly in response. Donnie remained silent as Mikey leaped across the space between them and threw his arms around his brother in a bone-crushing hug.

"Way to score, bro!" The youngest ninja exclaimed.

Raph winced when a yelp escaped his throat involuntarily. "What are you talking about?" He choked out, Mikey's arms were nearly crushing his windpipe. Raph's first instinct was to grit his teeth and quickly reverse their positions, throwing Mikey over his shoulder and dropping him on the ground. He stood over his brother before he blinked. Raph straightened in surprise, his green eyes wide, as realization hit him.

"What?" Raph yelped again in disbelief. Mikey hopped up from behind him and clapped Raphael hard on his shell, almost causing the red-masked turtle to topple onto the floor.

"April says she dreamed about you, dude!" Michelangelo told him with a wide grin. Raph glanced at each of his brother's before his eyes traveled to the redhead.

"She... did?" His tone was incredulous. April appeared to be trying to sink into an imaginary hole in the floor when his bright emerald irises landed on her. For once, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello remained quiet as the two observed each other silently. April's face had gone scarlet and Raph was feeling a bit warm as well. She wrung her hands together, at first looking at the others, before turning back to Raphael's stunned expression.

The leader of the ninja group cleared his throat. "We'll just, uh, give you two a minute." Leo then turned, placed his hands on the shells of his brothers, and began to lead them out of the room. Donnie's brown eyes lingered on April until they disappeared around the corner, and then, it was just Raphael and April.

Finally, Raph spoke. "What did you say the dream was about?" He appeared determined to remain a good distance away from her.

She swallowed with great difficulty. "Well...uh, you and I were kind of... Making out in my room." She muttered softly and rubbed at her arm bashfully. Raph stared at her for half a second before he began backing away, his cheeks burning.

"Oh." Raph was sure he'd never been so uncomfortable. The tension in the room was causing him to panic. Man, why couldn't this have happened to Donnie? He would know what to say. "Well, that's... That's not something I expected." He mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I think I'll just go then..." Raphael finally reached the exit, groping his way along the wall, and turned to leave when a small voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Raphael... Wait. Please." He cringed and sighed softly. He slowly turned his head without moving his body, his expression guarded. "Can we talk about this? I just... I can't forget about it and... I need to know what you think." Raph grew an odd expression on his face at her words. He rubbed his fingers over his eyes, looking uncomfortable, before he glanced up at her, his green hues thinned. He began to close the distance between them, one slow step at a time.

"That's really interesting, April." He grinned. "How was it, then?" She blew a sigh out of her nose before she gathered the courage to open her mouth again, confident she wouldn't make a complete idiot of herself.

"Um... Well, it was..." She trailed off and glanced up at his face with burning cheeks. "It was... You," She emphasized softly as she stared into his eyes. "Raph, you were really amazing. You were..."

Raphael's grin turned smug. "Oh, yeah?"

"Uh..." She suddenly felt the urge to run, screaming, from the room but his smoldering eyes had her pinned. Visions of his strong body, pressed tightly against hers, were flashing into her mind from her dream. She remembered her small hands running over every hard-toned muscle on his arms and every scar, bump, and groove in his shell. She could almost hear his panting breaths again as she feathered her fingers over his shoulders and down his muscled arms. She recalled how his large hands, callused but warm and gentle all the same, kept her firmly against his body, providing no escape. She cleared her throat, embarrassed, as a warmth pooled in the pit of her stomach.

"I mean... I'm not sure why I even had such a dream like that in the first place. I'm not saying you aren't good at kissing..." She started to walk backwards to put space between them. She noticed Raphael followed her and soon she had backed herself into a corner. Literally. When her back bumped into the wall, she swallowed thickly as her stomach coiled into knots. "I'm sure you're... really... talented..." She trailed off with a blush. Raphael eyed her, amused, before he spoke.

"Care to find out?"

April's heart skipped a beat. "What."

Remember to breathe, April. She hissed to herself. She failed to control her speeding heart and she had no doubt that Raph, being a specialized ninja, could quite possibly hear it. Raphael squinted at her and rested one of his hands on the wall behind her, making him lean over her, not overbearingly so, but still close enough for her to feel intimidated. The redhead swallowed as she stared at him.

"I was going to give you the opportunity to find out for yourself." Raphael pretended to inspect his other hand, a wicked grin on his face, his emerald eyes gleaming. "If you wanted." April blinked at him and her eyes roamed over his face before darting to his mouth, pulled back in a smirk. Her judgement being clouded by her dream, she sucked in a deep breath, and steeled her nerves before she replied.

"Okay, I'll do it." She murmured. Raph immediately stumbled away from her, his eyes unusually wide, almost comically so.

"WHAT?" He cried as his face darkened with a blush. It blended well with the color of his mask, she couldn't help but notice. She'd never seen such an embarrassed and bewildered expression on his face. "I was just messing with you! I... Y - you can't be serious! I mean, I'm a turtle. A mutant turtle. I'm not human like you." He gestured to her by waving his hand at her.

"Raph, I could care less that you're a turtle. I hang out with you guys all the time, so I'm used to you and your brothers." She told him firmly.

"Then why don't you just go smooch one of them?" Raph grumbled with a frown, his eyes peering over at her. She half-shrugged.

"Because I didn't kiss them." April made sure he was looking at her before she continued. "I kissed you." Raphael's cheeks burned in response as he averted his gaze. There was a moment of silence before either of them spoke again.

"I'm going to assume there's more to it than what you're telling me." He murmured softly and April flushed darkly. She took in a breath.

"Well... It started out with us arguing. I was mad at you, and we were yelling about something. We were practically nose to nose, glaring, and then you'd just... kissed me when I wouldn't stop arguing." She looked at her feet. "At first, it seemed you had just done it to shut me up, because after a few seconds you jerked away with a surprised look. And that's when you grabbed me and pinned me against the wall, kissing me really hard. And I just... Melted." April pressed her lips together to hide a smile. "I'd never been kissed like that before." April gazed at him with soft eyes. "You were so gentle and not at all what I thought you'd be like..." She whispered.

Raph swallowed as he watched her with wide eyes, his muscles stiff. He wasn't sure he remembered how to speak, but somehow he managed to utter, "Oh."

"And... then, I kissed you..." April slowly reached up with a finger and, making sure she had his undivided attention, she tapped him on his neck, just below his jaw. "Here." Raphael flinched away from her, his breath catching in his throat. She trailed her hand down his neck until she landed on the crack in his plastron, and continued until she hit the belt looped around his waist. His eyes were locked onto her finger, his breathing a bit shallow. She hooked her finger into the strap snugly.

"Your lips," she reached up with one hand and ran one finger across his slack mouth before he could respond, "...were so soft and firm. And then... You wrapped your arms around me to pull me closer to you." He took in a deep breath and she saw he appeared to be grinding his teeth together. Glancing down, she saw his fists were clenched tightly, as if he was struggling to keep himself immobile. Gathering courage by his response, April leaned toward him until her breath was ghosting over his neck. He quickly sucked in a breath through his teeth as his head traitorously tilted to the side away from her, the underside of his jaw exposed, and she gently pressed her lips to his neck where his pulse was. His skin was smooth and scaly, so different from human skin. The muscle in his neck twitched and she trailed her lips softly up his neck until she reached his face, slowly following the curve of his clenched jaw to his chin.

That seemed to be his breaking point. Quickly, he reached up and grabbed her hands as he leaned back from her. "What are you doing?" Raph asked in a strained voice.

"I'm telling you about my dream." She answered with a small smile. He moved back and put some distance between them.

"I wanted to know what happened, I didn't need a demonstration." He snapped irritably, the uncomfortable tension was making him nervous, and he hated feeling like he had no control. He stubbornly wiped her invisible kiss off his neck. "Look, it sounds nice and all, but I just can't do that to -"

"Kiss me." She cut in quickly. Raph broke off and raised an eyebrow.

"April, I just said -"

"Please." April bit her lip. "I just... I need to know if what I'm feeling now is because of you or because of what I dreamed. Just kiss me. That's all I want. If it's not what I expected, I won't bother you about it anymore. I'll drop the subject and never bring it up again." She compromised. Raphael continued to stare at her, his voice caught in his throat.

"You can't be serious." He uttered in disbelief. April swiped a finger in a crossing motion over her heart and held up two fingers in Scout's Honor.

"No, I swear, I'm being so serious right now." He frowned and thinned his eyes at her. She gave him a tight smile. "Please, Raph, I have to know." She told him softly, her heart hammering in her chest.

"And what happens after that, April? What happens when you get what you want?" Raphael argued with a scowl. She shrugged weakly.

"I don't know. I suppose I'll figure something out, but I just... I want to..." Her blue eyes lingered on his mouth, and he noticed. The desperation in her voice was making him more nervous. He cleared his throat to fill the silence.

Donnie's going to kill me... Raphael thought as he finally consented, unable to resist her pouting face. He sighed and ran his hand over his face. "FINE. Fine, okay." He growled and winced when her eyes widened in surprise. "Just... Keep it between us, okay? I don't want anyone finding out, especially Donnie." Raph muttered with a frown as he directed his gaze to their feet. April felt a pang of guilt stab at her from his comment but she pushed it away stubbornly. What Donnie didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Yeah, no... No problem." She whispered softly. Raphael stared at her a few moments before he closed his eyes and took in a deep, steady breath to calm his nerves. April tried to do the same, but couldn't quite get her shivers under control. She held her breath when Raph stepped in closer to her side. He rested one large hand on the wall beside her head, trapping her, and brought his other hand up to carefully grab hold of her chin to tilt her face up towards his. His expression was guarded, serious, and his eyes were narrowed in concentration. Her stomach flipped when Raphael bent down, his lips barely a hair's width away, until his startling olive-colored irises were all she could see.

"Last chance." Raphael whispered, giving her the opportunity to back out, as he stroked his rough thumb across her jaw. His breath fanned over her face and April was having trouble concentrating.

"Raph..." She breathed. He took that as a sign to get it over with and, with a single breath to gather his nerves, he clenched his eyes shut, puckered his lips, and pressed his mouth against hers in one quick motion. April's breath left her as soon as he kissed her and she struggled to remember how to inhale, let alone how to move her lips. Goosebumps prickled on her skin and a shiver ran down her spine. Her hands moved on their own and she fumbled blindly until her fingers grazed his face. The sensation was strange and his lips were firm and warm and wet, and scaly on top of that. He held himself there for a few moments, not sure what exactly he was supposed to be doing, before he released her, their lips making a popping sound as they parted.

Wow.

April took in a shaky breath through her nose. His hand still held her face close and she swallowed thickly, trembling. Raphael slowly released her chin but didn't move back from her just yet. April slowly opened her eyes and raised her gaze to his.

"So?" Raph asked, his voice quiet and low, and it made her toes curl. "Is it how you thought it'd be?" April somehow managed to find her voice.

"I..." She was almost at a loss for words as she gazed into his piercing emerald eyes. His voice was throwing her stomach into knots and her mouth was tingling from his kiss. "I think I want to try again." She admitted softly before she pressed close and locked their lips together once more. It took Raph a few moments, but soon, he was responding to her by following her lead. His hands moved and then he was gripping her waist and kissing her with a strength that left her breathless and clinging to his shell. He ran his large hands up her back slowly before he cupped her face gently with his fingers.

The second time was certainly the charm, April thought. She reached up and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, causing Raph to be pulled flush against her. In response, his arms wrapped around her and lifted her clear off the ground as he took the last remaining steps to the wall and pushed her against it. April moaned softly in the back of her throat and she completely melted against him, their kiss becoming sloppy and hungry.

These kisses weren't like her dream - they were so much better.

She just knew if he weren't holding onto her, she would've collapsed into a pile of quivering limbs. All she could think of was how safe she felt in his powerful hold, how much he didn't taste like raw sewage and pizza like she thought he might, and how much she loved the way his mouth felt on hers. A heat began to grow between them that caused April's heart to race and her blood to pump faster through her veins. Raph broke away after a few moments, his chest heaving. April was breathing just as hard, taking gasping breaths through her mouth. He swallowed and laid his cheek against the side of her neck.

"Wow, Raph." She breathed softly. "Wow, oh my gosh." April was sure she'd never felt so giddy in her life. Raphael tightened his muscles around her as he stared at the wall he was facing, his eyes wide. Her body was so soft, so small - he felt like he was holding something incredibly fragile in his arms. Her warmth was seeping into his body and he was bound and determined to stay as close to her as long as he could. "Raph, that was amazing..." Her voice was barely above a whisper, full of wonder and longing. She leaned away to look at his face and he reluctantly moved back as well. Raph set her on her feet, but her arms were still around his neck, so he had no choice but to remain face-to-face with her. She pulled one arm loose and held a hand against his cheek.

"Thank you." She murmured and guided his lips to hers again, kissing him softly. His fingers twitched on her back. She cracked open an eyelid and noticed he hadn't closed his eyes. He was gazing at her with half-lidded emeralds behind a crimson mask.

"For what?" Raph asked, his voice muffled.

"For letting me kiss you." April whispered back, dragging her half-open mouth across his lips.

"No problem." He muttered. They parted more slowly this time and this time, she let her arms fall so he could move away. "Just don't tell anyone else, alright?" His mouth twitched into a smile and she returned it. Raph reached up slowly and held her cheek in his palm with such a strange tenderness that it left her heart aching. She felt her throat threaten to close up. She knew Raphael was caring, and his temper was merely how he showed affection at times, but she never knew he had it in him to be so romantic. April considered him for a moment.

"Raph, I... I think I'm in lo-" She began before faded voices from just outside the room caused them both to freeze. Eyes wide, they sent panicked looks to each other. Before April knew what was happening, he'd completely vanished from her side and was across the room in record time as Mikey, Donnie, and Leo appeared around the corner. She cursed under her breath.

Darn ninjas.

Donnie's expression was sullen, she noticed, as he entered the room but when he saw that Raph and April appeared to have remained a good distance from each other, a hopeful grin spread his lips apart, showing the gap in his teeth.

"But Leo, what if Raphael and April -" Mikey started hesitantly before his eldest brother cut him off.

"Mikey, I'm sure it's fine if we come back in now. We gave them more than enough time." Leo told him in an exasperated tone before he scanned the room cautiously, his eyes landing on Raph and then sliding over to April. The girl was leaning against the wall with a hand over her heart and Raph was resting in the pit on the other side of the room, his legs crossed casually, and a comic book over his face. Leo examined his brother, hoping he could determine what had happened from his posture, but Raph gave nothing away. He appeared as though he'd been reading the entire time they'd been gone. Leo peered at him before he shrugged. He parked himself next to Raphael in the pit while Donnie strode over to April with a grin. Mikey glanced between April and Raph with narrowed, concentrated eyes. His expression grew thoughtful.

"So, how did the talk go?" Leo asked. Raph cut his eyes over to his brother before returning his gaze to the comic.

"Great." He replied, his tone indicating that he was merely talking about the weather. Leo raised an eyebrow.

"Did... Did something happen?" He asked carefully. Raph glanced at him, lowering the book slightly.

"No. She told me about her dream. That's it. Everything's great." Raphael said, his narrowed eyes daring Leonardo to question him further. The blue-masked hero's eyebrows rose but he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to be the target of Raph's anger. Raph raised the comic book and Leo grabbed the remote with a shrug. At least he could end his weird day by watching his favorite show.

"So, April," Donnie began as smoothly as he could, a hesitant grin on his face. April could still feel her beating heart in her chest. She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves before turning to look at the genius ninja. "Wanna hang out? I've been working on something in my lab that I think you'll like!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. She couldn't help but grin at him.

"Sure, Donnie. I'd love to see it." She agreed and wasn't surprised when the purple-masked turtle lunged for her hand and began to drag her out of the room, her heels sliding over the floor easily as though she weighed nothing. As Donnie talked about his latest creation, April locked eyes with Raphael when he lowered the comic. He was gazing at her with a neutral expression, but when she smiled at him, he couldn't help but return it. As she passed, she held out a finger and ran it across his shoulders and the back of his neck softly. Once April disappeared into Donnie's lab, Raph returned to his book with a grin.

"You kissed her, didn't you?" A voice abruptly whispered next to him and Raph nearly leapt out of his shell. He fumbled for the comic book and turned to glare at Mikey, who was propped up next to his brother casually. Raph quickly glanced at Leo and he wasn't surprised to see their leader was sitting on his knees in front of the television, completely enraptured by Space Heroes. Raphael rolled his eyes and whirled back around on his youngest brother to see Mikey grinning at him.

"No! What would make you think that?" Raph demanded in a hushed tone. Mikey's grin couldn't possibly get much bigger and Raph was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Come on, Raph, don't think I didn't see that just now." Mikey teased and elbowed Raph in his shoulder.

"Go away, Mikey." Raphael tensed and his eyebrows drew together tightly. He could practically feel the blush creeping up his neck. He swiftly blocked his face with the comic book and hunched up his shoulders, and hoped Mikey would get the hint.

He didn't. "Something definitely went on while we were gone." The orange-masked turtle continued and glanced at his brother's face with a sly smile. "And considering your face is turning all shades of red, I'm thinking you smooched her!"

"I did not!" Raph growled through clenched teeth and his cheeks burned brighter with his frustration. Mikey gave him an amused look and shrugged as he walked away at a slow pace, in the same direction Donnie and April went in a few moments prior.

"I'm sure April wouldn't mind telling me what happened!" Mikey called over his shoulder with a grin, not noticing Raphael slowly lower the comic book with clenched fists and fix him with the evilest of death glares. "After all, April and I are best buds! She tells me everything!"

Raph set the comic book down with an eerie calmness and stood. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, wouldn't I?" The orange-masked turtle practically sang as he danced around the corner. "Hey, April, what happened between you and - ACK!" No sooner had Mikey turned the corner, Raphael clotheslined him at a running sprint, taking him to the floor in one swift movement and putting him in a headlock.

"Shut up, shell-for-brains!"

"I just wanted to ask April if you guys - OW!" Mikey cried and was instantly silenced by Raph twisting his arm back with a heavy frown. Back in the other room, Leo turned up the volume on the television set with a sigh to block out his rough-housing siblings. He knew Raph had an excellent poker face and he also knew his brother was great at keeping secrets, especially if he didn't want anyone knowing about it. But if there was one thing Leo knew more than anything about the short-tempered turtle, it was that if Raphael got angry, there was always a good reason behind it.

"I think Mikey might be on to something." Leo muttered to himself with a smug grin. The sound of a scuffle breaking out before a pursuit in progress reached his ears and he rolled his eyes. "Raph, stop chasing Mikey!"

Raph ignored him. "MIKEY, GET BACK HERE!" Mikey scampered off as soon as his feet touched the floor and then Raphael was tearing off after him seconds later, arms outstretched in front of him.

"WHOA! I WAS JUST KIDDING, BRO! IT'S COOL IF YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH APRIL!"

"I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH HER!" Raph's voice cracked with his shout as he chased Mikey with a vengeance. His voice echoed throughout the lair and resounded off in the lab. Donnie appeared to be an expert in blocking out the sounds going on around him as he tinkered with his latest project, not fazed by Raph's comment in the slightest, but she could hear everything. April felt her cheeks flush as a small smile appeared on her face.

She knew denial when she heard it. And the truth was... She was in love with him too.

The End